Beneath The Exterior

---

Mara had had a long week, her body ached - the traveling had kept her from being her normal energetic self but she didn't let it keep her inside for long. She longed to feel the wind and sun on her skin, so she figured going to the shopping district would be a good place to start. She ran her fingers over the small trinket and spoke gently to the shop owner before purchasing it. Always adding something to her charm bracelets - of which she had many.

Living in Seoul had always kind of surprised her; it was the last place she ever expected to live. In fact she'd been dead set on teaching in China - however, the pay wasn't very good so she took the next best offer to at least build a savings. Korea paid tons better than China or Japan, and it paid her rent; which she was thankful for. The shops were more than busy, which was normal for the area; so it didn't bother her. Walking into a pet shop, where she got her birds food, she looked over at the treats but her eyes locked with a pair of brown ones. A small smile curved her lips and she continued to look at the bird foods grabbing a bag then looking at some new toys for pickle.

Lucas loved pets but he couldn’t have one just yet. But it didn’t stop him from going to pet stores to play wit the animals there until he could get one of his own. He went inside and began looking at the animals before accidentally bumping into a girl by the birds. “Oh, hey, sorry,” He grinned, his mask hiding his smile but his eyes showing it. “Didn’t see you there.”

---

Sade stood in front of the mirror, organizing her makeup for when the boys came in for touch ups. They were at a performance and she was excited to be there. One aspect had Made things a bit stressful however, Jongin had an almost determined mission to fluster her whenever he got a chance and it had slowly intensified to the point that she began preparing herself when she knew he was coming back.

She smiled a little and shook her head, "Sorry it's my fault," she said to him gently as she adjusted the birdfood on her hip. As she adjusted everything she dropped her bag with the toys in it, "Crap," she mumbled softly before manuvering to pick it up.

---

Jongin wasn't normally like this with women, normally he let them come to him - but something about Sade made her stand out. "Hey," he said smiling a little as he walked into the room. "It's been a while since I've seen you," he sighed, "you must have missed me," he joked.

She turned to look at him and shook her head. “Not sure what would give you that idea, I was enjoying the peace and quiet,” She teased gently and then nudged him. “And you’re not mine today, I’ve got Channie, Jongdae, and Baekhyun,” She smiled a little, gesturing to the other chair. “I’m sure Minsoo will do a fabulous job with you,” She grinned. Truthfully she had asked the other girl to switch, since Jongin liked to mess with her while she did his makeup.

---

He stopped down quickly and gathered everything up, putting it into the basket. “You aren’t flustered are you? You’re pretty, you should be out flustering guys left and right,” He grinned a little, keeping hold of her basket. “Unless you had something else you wanted to say?”

He whined, "She always does the eyeliner too dark," he said to her pouting a little as he plopped down in the seat, "I want you to do my makeup," he said to her. Jongin didn't like that she was pushing away, not when he was just getting used to being around her.

---

Mara laughed a little as she looked at him, "whats there to be flustered about?" she asked as she wet her lips a little then shrugged, "Do I fluster you?" she asked him with a coy expression on her face.

She snorted a little, shrugging her shoulders. “You look good with dark eyeliner though, fans like that,” She reminded him, picking up one of her compacts and fiddling with it. “Plus we all have three, minus Hyojin who has two so if you find someone to switch with you, but you’ll have Channie, Jongdae, and Baekhyun upset because they specifically asked for me today,” she laughed a little.

---

“Maybe,” He smiled a little. “I’d be interested to find out,” He added with a smirk. “I think you have a nice laugh.” He added, shrugging a little.

"I always specifically ask for you, why do they get favoritism?" he asked her with a raised brow, "do you like them more than me?" he murmured as he tilted his head to look at her curiously.

---

A small smile curved her lips, "If you're lucky you can hear it again when I take you out to dinner," she said to him boldly, god he was hot - but she'd never say it outloud. She was never this bold, ever, normally Mara Leon was the shy french girl who kept to herself.

She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. “And I always do your makeup, don’t I? If anyone is getting favoritism, it’s you since I do yours so often. Baekhyun likes the way I do his eyeliner, and Jongdae and Chanyeol like how I do their eyes, besides it’s just for today,” She murmured. “Why do I feel like I’m in trouble for this,” She snorted.

---

“Done,” He said confidently. “Tonight? I’m starving,” He added, smiling a little. “I’ll pick the place? Do you like barbecue?” He asked, handing her basket out for her. “Also you should give me your number so I can call you again.”

Nodding she smiled as she looked at him then offered her his phone, "Of course, I love barbecue," she said to him as she wet her lips then took the basket from him. "Any time is fine for me I just got here three weeks ago, and I'm not too busy any time after 5," she admitted.

---

He whined a little as he looked at her, "Don't you care about my feelings?" he said to her.

“Of course I do, I do your makeup 99% of the time, Jongin,” She smiled. “Don’t you care about mine? Favoritism might get me fired,” She said sweetly, poking his nose with a brush.

---

Lucas smiled a little. “Is 8 too late? I kinda have a late day job,,” He admitted. “I’ll see if I can be done by then,” He smiled a little

She nodded a little, "sure thats fine, we can get a late dinner," she said to him as she nodded taking her phone back. "My name is Mara.. by the way," she spoke meekly then adjusted her bag of bird food then shoved her phone in her pocket.

---

"No it won't but I always ask first, I make sure of it, Jongdae you're going to be switching stylists - you know I prefer Sade," he whined to the older male.

Jongdae whined back, shaking his head. “Why me? You always get her!” He said, pouting his lips and sighing. “Why not Baekhyun?”

“Don’t,” Baekhyun said, shaking his head.

Sade crossed her arms and sat on the counter watching to see what they would decide. She was relatively new and she wondered how the other stylists felt about this considering she just started.

---

“Lucas,” He smiled at her. “So you have a bird?” He asked curiously.

She nodded, "Yes, a parakeet - his name is pickle," she smiled as she looked at him sheepishly before wetting her lips, "He's a bit of a jerk sometimes but he's really cute so it makes up for it,"

---

"No! This is my normal you don't want to ruin my routine!" he said with wide eyes, "Besides, she's my favorite," he said seriously as if that ended all discussion.

She made a face at him and grabbed his compact which Minsoo had slid back to her while giggling making her groan. “Jongdae I’ll do your makeup tomorrow,” She said apologetically before looking at Jongin. “Are you happy?” She mumbled, handing him a wipe to wipe down his face and grabbing his foundation. “You’re lucky I still have most of your stuff but next time I’ll hand it to Minsoo.”

He smiled a little. “Pickle? That’s cute, when can I meet him?” He asked her, tilting his head to the side. He wondered if she really didn’t know who he was but he wasn’t complaining. He was enjoying himself.

She smiled a little, "Maybe after our date if you're not too tired," she said to him tilting her head a little then smiling a bit her cheeks burning. God his smile was beautiful, had she hit the jackpot? "He's very friendly, has mostly free roam when I'm home unless its bed time," she admitted.

---

He whined a little, "Why do you hate me, Sade?" he said to her huffing a little, "You're so mean," he said dramatically then smiled. "but I knew you couldn't resist me, even Minsoo knows it," he said noting the other stylists laughter.

She made a face. “I guess maybe it’s because you’re so pushy,” She said dramatically, doing his eye makeup. “But it’s okay, tomorrow Jongdae, I’ll do your makeup,” She said to him, smiling widely. “But to be honest, it’s you who can’t resist me since you’re so bent on making sure your favorite does your makeup,”

He smiled at her. “I don’t know we might be tired,” He shrugged coyly. “But I’ll bs happy to meet him,” He added. “Is Hongdae okay with you?”

She smiled a little as she looked at him, "Thats fine, just text me when," she said to him nodding a little as she looked at her phone for the time. "I have to go right now but we can talk later?"

---

Jongin rolled his eyes a bit, "You enjoy me and you know it," he shrugged with a small smile as he closed his eyes, "and we both know that you like me more than you let on,"

“I never said I didn’t like you, Jongin,” She smiled a little, blending out eyeshadow and grabbing her eyeliner pen. “There just might be others that need my attention too though, and I’m not sure you’re ready to share.”

“Sure, I’ll see you soon,” He smiled a little, putting his mask back on and heading towards the door. “I’ll text you.”

He shrugged as he listened to her, "sharing isn't in my nature," he said to her with a smiled a bit then peeked at her. "besides why share? sharing is for kids,"

---

Mara nodded a little then walked away to pay for her things and get ready to head home.